1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to patient management systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for sample analysis and medical data acquisition for patient management.
2. Background Information
Point-of-care sample analysis systems are generally based on a re-usable reading apparatus that performs sample tests using a disposable device, e.g., a cartridge or strip, that contains analytical elements, e.g., electrodes or optics for sensing analytes such as, for example, pH, oxygen and glucose. The disposable device can optionally include fluidic elements (e.g., conduits for receiving and delivering the sample to the electrodes or optics), calibrant elements (e.g., aqueous fluids for standardizing the electrodes with a known concentration of the analyte), and dyes with known extinction coefficients for standardizing optics. The reading apparatus contains the electrical circuitry and other components for operating the electrodes or optics, making measurements, and doing computations. The reading apparatus also has the ability to display results and communicate those results to laboratory and hospital information systems (LIS and HIS, respectively), for example, via a computer workstation. Communication between the reading apparatus and a workstation, and between the workstation and a LIS, can be via, for example, an infrared link, a wired connection, wireless communication, or any other form of data communication that is capable of transmitting and receiving (e.g., electrical) information, or any combination thereof.
One benefit of point-of-care sample testing systems is the elimination of the time-consuming need to send a sample to a central laboratory for testing. Point-of-care sample testing systems allow a nurse, at the bedside of a patient, to obtain a reliable, quantitative, analytical result, comparable in quality to that which would be obtained in a laboratory. In operation, the nurse selects a device with the required panel of tests, draws a sample, dispenses it into the device, optionally seals the device with, for example, a snap-closure, and inserts the device into the reading apparatus. While the particular order in which the steps occur may vary between different point-of-care systems and providers, the intent of providing rapid sample test results close to the location of the patient remains. The reading apparatus then performs a test cycle, i.e., all the other analytical steps required to perform the tests. Such simplicity gives the physician quicker insight into a patient's physiological status and, by reducing the time for diagnosis, enables a quicker decision by the physician on the appropriate treatment, thus enhancing the likelihood of a successful patient treatment.
In the emergency room and other acute-care locations within a hospital, the types of sample tests required for individual patients tend to vary. Thus, point-of-care systems generally offer a range of disposable devices with different sample tests, or combinations of sample tests. For example, for blood analysis devices, in addition to traditional blood tests, including oxygen (“PO2”), carbon dioxide (“PCO2”), pH, potassium (“K”), sodium (“Na”), chloride (“Cl”), hematocrit (“Hct”), glucose (“Glu”), urea (“BUN”), creatinine (“CREA”) and calcium (“iCa”), other tests can include, for example, prothrombin time (“PT”), activated clotting time (“ACT”), activated partial thromboplastin time (“APTT”), troponin, creatine kinase MB (“CKMB”) and lactate. While devices typically contain between one and ten tests, it will be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art that any number of tests can be contained on a device. For example, a device for genetic screening can include numerous tests. To illustrate the need for different devices, a patient suspected of arrhythmia could require a device with a test combination that includes a potassium test, whereas a patient suspected of a diabetic coma can require a device with a test combination that includes a glucose test.
A given hospital may use numerous different types of devices and accordingly needs to maintain a combination of some or all of these at each point-of-care testing location within the hospital. These locations can include, for example, an emergency room (ER), a critical care unit (CCU), a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), an intensive care unit (ICU), a renal dialysis unit (RDU), an operating room (OR), a cardiovascular operating room (CVOR), general wards (GW) and the like. Other hospital locations can be used to deliver point-of-care testing, as can other non-hospital-based locations where medical care is delivered, including, for example, MASH units, nursing homes, and cruise, commercial and military ships, and the like.
The following patents relating to point-of-care sample testing are assigned to the same assignee as the present application: DISPOSABLE SENSING DEVICE FOR REAL TIME FLUID ANALYSIS, Lauks et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,669; WHOLLY MICROFABRICATED BIOSENSORS AND PROCESS FOR THE MANUFACTURE AND USE THEREOF, Cozzette et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,200,051; METHOD FOR ANALYTICALLY UTILIZING MICROFABRICATED SENSORS DURING WET-UP, Cozzette et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,455; SYSTEM, METHOD AND COMPUTER IMPLEMENTED PROCESS FOR ASSAYING COAGULATION IN FLUID SAMPLES, Opalsky et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,498; MICROFABRICATED APERTURE-BASED SENSOR, Davis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,883; APPARATUS FOR ASSAYING VISCOSITY CHANGES IN FLUID SAMPLES AND METHOD OF CONDUCTING SAME, Davis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,440; REUSABLE TEST UNIT FOR SIMULATING ELECTROCHEMICAL SENSOR SIGNALS FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE OF PORTABLE BLOOD ANALYZER INSTRUMENTS, Zelin et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,124,661; STATIC-FREE INTERROGATING CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS, Lauks U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,087; and REFERENCE ELECTRODE, METHOD OF MAKING AND METHOD OF USING SAME, Lauks, U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,048, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
However, as patients can be on a medical therapy delivery system, such as a ventilator or the like, at the time the medical sample is taken, how such medical therapy delivery systems are set up can affect the interpretation of, for example, the blood gas and other analysis results provided by the analyzer or reading apparatus. Thus, there is a need for a system that can use or otherwise incorporate the operating parameters of the medical therapy delivery system in the analysis of the medical sample to provide a better interpretation of the blood gas and other sample analysis results.